"Since the mid-nineteenth century, Cuban popular music has played an important role in urban western culture. From the habaneras danced in the salons of New York City in the 1860s to the congas, rumbas, cha-chas, son-montunos and mambos of more recent vintage, Cuban dance has exerted a powerful international influence. " Most of Cuba's culture, including its dances, resulted from what Fernando Ortiz termed "Cuban counterpoint,", the balance of Cuba's Iberian and African components. One of the best examples is that of "son-montuno."

Salsa has origins in Cuban music but credit for it's worldwide popularity belongs to the Puerto Ricans of New York! The popularity of Salsa throughout the world, is indirectly a consequence of American economic and social imperialism (MacDonalds, Coca Cola, TV, movies, music etc) but in this case, it is probably a good thing! Musically, Salsa has its roots firmly based in the Afro-Spanish musical traditions of Cuba but its worldwide popularity should be attributed to the Puerto Ricans of New York.

There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about the story behind Mambo, Cha Cha and Salsa. Most notably that the music and dances originated in Cuba and migrated to New York and then to the rest of the world. In a lot of ways this is true but the story of the creation of the music and the dances is a little more complicated than this simplistic history.

There is some debate whether Salsa and Mambo are the same dance. However, if we get technical, we could argue that Bolero, Rumba, Son, Mambo, Salsa, Cumbia and others often appear to be the same dance. The fact is that in modern music each dance often includes musical segments from other dances and so, one dance borrows moves from another. Eventually the moves merge.

In salsa music, the clave rhythm establishes the key or structure to the song. Directly or indirectly, all the other instruments and the singers in the band are guided and structured by the clave rhythms. While it cannot always be heard in some salsa music, the clave's beat always underlies the rhythmic structure of good salsa. While there are various clave rhythm patterns, the "Son Clave" is the one used in the classic, mainstream New York Caribbean-style salsa music preferred by New Yorkers for ON 2 dancing.

In many musical discussions, styles of music found in the Americas and the Caribbean are often referred to as African-derived. Salsa is no exception and the following discussion explores what is particularly African about the music: clave, a rhythmic concept found in a variety of Latin-American styles. Similarities in sound and function to African bell patterns provide evidence towards a theory of clave's origins and an evolutionary link between African music and salsa.